Sunday, February 15, 2009

♥ Queen Macarons

Recently I was in Paris for Christmas, I must confess prior to the trip, I was openly bored. It would be my 5th or 6th trip there and I thought I had seen it all and the thought of shops closing at 6 pm always filled me with with dread but I was well prepared with loads of work to do and fashion magazines to catch up with.

But ah.... never ever underestimate Paris.. I was astounded again by how beautiful this city is. Driving past by Tour Eiffel, this time she is deck in brilliant dark cobalt blue light and yellow stars ( signifying EU) , I just stare in intense admiration at her latest outfit. She is indeed well loved by her designers. I admire again the beautiful buildings along Avenue Fouh and then of course , the gorgeous Champs-Élysées. Enough about them though, one must visit Paris to truly appreciate the beauty of this quaint European city.

I did also have a fantastic time this trip! Loads of shopping and good food. But what stood out was Ladurée . How could I have missed this legendary place all this time? It is located diagonally across the big Louis Vuitton store on the Champs-Élysées.

My lovely mother-in-law was so sweet to book a table there for Christmas Eve ( thanks ma! ). I was blown away by the quaint, vintage frou frou style decor inside and of course the macarons! I always see macarons on my deco tapes which I sold in my store but never the real pastry!

A short history of this place. It all started in 1862, Louis Ernest Laduree had a bakery on Rue Royale in Paris. A fire had happened and they rebuild the bakery to a cake shop. Jules Cheret was the decorator of the shop, his work was inspired by the techniques use in the Opera Garnier and the Sixtine Chapel.

It was La Duree's wife who first started the idea to merge the cake shop and a cafe together . This give birth to one of the first Parisian tearooms. One good thing was that women were welcome to the cafe anytime.

Later, it was bought over by Holder group, it's owner extend the cafe and choose to retain the classic style and atmosphere of this historical tearoom.

These are some of the pictures take off the website, honestly, I feel it has more character at night when the lights are dim and the whole atmosphere has a hint of magical tinge to it. Like if I see Marie Antoinette powdering her pretty nose beside me in the powder room, I would not even blink !

The REAL life macarons ! I tell you, at first I was very hesitant to try it because it looks so freaky sweet and at 9 pm, I am not sure if I want to load my body with that much sugar. Then again, I am never an early bird so what the heck, I shall eat some and be all hyper like a 5 year old and annoy ( or please? ;P) DH.

Oh... the taste..... the TASTE!!!! It is like the ultimate dessert! Crispy biscuit shells which are crispy on the outside but so soft on the inside, the creme is smooth and full of flavor! I had ordered the Macarons Pommes Caramel ( did not take pictures, too dark!) , it is a smooth macaroon ( I don't know why they spell it with two O's but it is spelled like that on the menu and how did I have the menu now in front of me? Hee hee.. don't ask but I might tell you when I know you well enough ) biscuit , caramel cream, "Jonnagored" roasted apples, caramel with salt flower. Perfect for a dreamy Christmas Eve.

There is a walk in bakery too where there are very pretty assorted colors and flavors macarons for you to choose! They have really pretty packaging too! I bought a little oil cloth bag with macarons design and they wrap it up so nicely for me! Awwww..... I want to go back there !!!!! Hmm... maybe I should give up my Singaporean citizenship for this and be a French, it might be worth it!

Now now now, don't get excited, go work hard! Slave! Tighten your belt! Eat leftovers! Look for pennies on the street ( there are I tell you now ) , sell your grandmother ( just kidding , just kidding! ) , then buy a ticket to Paris! One last push, you are not really an artist if you don't visit this art city ( don't slam sweet little me now). Seriously, I swear to you on my 2000 decor sticker tapes, your life will be changed. If not, there is always the cool Pakistani man who dance to his India music in his small magazine booth and charges you 2 Euro for a silver color Tour Eiffel keychain ( now we know why he is dancing...) .

Ok, one of my purposes in having a blog is not only to showcase what I love or hate but also Etsy sellers or stores that sells wonderful handmade stuff ( it is not always about me you know) . I thought it would be appropriate to show you this seller 3LambsGraphics. I can end this post with "enough said, just look at the damn beautiful pictures!" but that is being lazy.

What can I say really? Nothing.. let's just admire the sheer elegance and simplicity of these prints ( silence... silence....... smile...) . Get one, especially the All Hail and Bow To Me piece , frame it, display it where people can see it. I think it is silly to display it where no one can see, I mean who then All Hail to who or who should bow to what ? Then watch how your ego is boosted and then come back to work and go work for money to buy that ticket to Paris, go go!

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The One Woman Circus Act

I am terribly addicted to colors and retro theme things. I love life to bits and thinks life is a joke but it is okay as long I am not the punch line too often. Come visit me at www.retronana.etsy.com . I promise I won't sell you insurance.

♥¨*·..·*´¨Fun Store Discounts¨*·..·*´¨♥

I try to stock as much items as I can in my store. Right now, I have over 1800 items! Over 500 DIY decor stickers tapes, 500 kawaii style scrapbook stickers ( sets too!) and over 150 stamps kits and notebooks!This is to give you guys a nice selection to shop from. My store offers are